May 21, 2003 — 2:12 a.m. Lockyer invited the American Civil Liberties Union
to review the activities of the California Anti-Terrorism Information Center
(CATIC) and the California Department of Justice's Criminal Intelligence Bureau
and California Bureau of Investigation.
He also questioned whether state resources should
be spent on the sort of advisories to local law enforcement officials that triggered
criticism from the ACLU on Tuesday.
In a letter to Lockyer, the ACLU expressed its
"utter dismay" over a story in the Sunday edition of the Oakland Tribune that
CATIC had been compiling dossiers and keeping track of even nonviolent activists
and protest activities since it was created in response to the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist attacks.
"I understand why they're worried. I hear things
from Washington, D.C., that make me worried," Lockyer said.
But he denied his Department of Justice keeps
political dossiers of the sort once compiled by the FBI and police "Red Squads,"
and said files are regularly purged unless investigators demonstrate a tie to
violent or terrorist activities.
Even the Oakland-based Ruckus Society specifically
named in a CATIC bulletin prior to an Oakland protest last month isn't included
in the state's files, Lockyer said, because the group advocates only "nonviolent
direct action." The CATIC warning listed the Ruckus Society as having been involved
in previous protests that turned violent.
The prohibition on tracking anyone or any organization
not linked to criminal intent is in written guidelines, he said, and CATIC reports
to a governor-appointed advisory board that includes public as well as local
law enforcement officials.
"We have no interest in peaceful protest even
if it involves protesters breaking a law in the civil disobedience sort of way,"
Lockyer said."
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Wednesday, May 21, 2003
SACRAMENTO (AP) — California won't monitor
peace protesters, even those who engage in minor acts of civil disobedience, as
it tries to head off terrorist threats, Attorney General Bill Lockyer pledged
Tuesday.